Las Vegas Summer League Day SevenJuly 19, 2008Sessions once again looked great running the show for Milwaukee. His teammates are finally catching up to the speed that he plays at, and it shows in the box score. The young point man displayed great court vision today, and very consistent range on his jumper. He still needs to work on hitting the NBA three, but he proved capable of that during the regular season. If he can make that a regular part of his game, he would be thoroughly dominant on this level. Unlike last game, Sessions didn’t make a ton of trips to the line, finishing most of his drives to the rim with lay ups. Denver’s defense didn’t have an answer for him, and he did a great job constantly pushing the tempo by tracking down numerous long rebounds. The former Nevada player clearly turned a corner in his development near the end of the season, and this is the second time in recent memory that the Bucks have had a second-round point guard develop into a very good NBA player. [Read Full Article]Las Vegas Summer League Day FiveJuly 16, 2008Sessions had a great game today, carrying his team over Detroit in a defensive battle. He solidified his spot on the Bucks’ roster last season, and has been a standout all week here in Vegas. He’s got tremendous quickness and very good ball handling ability, allowing him to get into the lane at will. This game was just another instance of Sessions making a move at the top of the key and getting to the rim. Though he’s not going to play above the rim, he gets to the line at a high rate, and shows a lot of savvy attacking the basket. Sessions is a good rebounder for a point guard, and played solid defense throughout this game against Detroit’s lesser guards. Sessions has developed quite a bit since his days in the D-League, and given Milwaukee’s positive feelings about him, may get more playing time than most would expect. [Read Full Article]Las Vegas Summer League Day TwoJuly 13, 2008Sessions looked like an NBA player today. The experience he got late in the season has done wonders for him. He plays with a ton of poise, and was almost too effective today. On far too many occasions he got in the lane and dropped a quick pass to a teammates only for it to deflect off their hands out of bounds. With essentially no other players with a season of NBA experience on the roster, Sessions will probably experience his fare share of frustration this week. His passing ability is a nice contrast to what Mo Williams brings to the table in Milwaukee. This setting makes it hard for him to showcase his ability to protect the ball, but the sheer number of free throws he took is a testament to how he uses his body in traffic. [Read Full Article]NBA D-League Showcase, Day FourJanuary 18, 2008Ramon Sessions really struggled with the way he played today. On the offensive end, he was content with pounding the ball into the floor for the majority of the shot-clock rather than creating ball movement in the Tulsa offensive sets. This led the rookie into a number of difficult low-percentage shots off the dribble. From behind the 3-point line, he shows good vision and solid play-making ability, but he lacks the same vision on his drives to the basket—seeing only thing and one thing only, the hoop. Sessions lacks the ability to finish inside over big men and struggles with perimeter shooting at this point in his career, which limits his scoring to pull-up mid-range jumpers and floaters (which he does make with very good accuracy).

On the plus side, Sessions plays hard on the defensive end and rebounds the ball extremely well for a guard his size. The rookie shows great strength with his upper body and uses this as a defensive asset against bigger guards. To last in the NBA, he needs to again focus on running an offense effectively. At Nevada, he looked to be an above average floor general, and did a much better job of distributing earlier in the D-League season. Improved outside shooting would also increase his chances to someday make an impact in the NBA. [Read Full Article]NBA D-League Showcase, Day ThreeJanuary 17, 2008Sessions almost notched a triple-double today despite a disastrous 1 of 7 first half, but finished strong and lead his team to a 94-79 victory over the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

Ramon dribbles effectively with both hands and can go either direction. Combine that with his quickness and you have a player who can get to the rim on just about any possession. In the fourth quarter he dribbled right into the paint and then did a quick change of direction and actually crossed a guy over and layed it in only a few feet from the basket – not an easy feat. He does a good job of setting up his teammates and threw a pretty no-look pass to Nick Fazekas in transition that just barely got tipped or would have lead to an easy basket.

Defensively he does a good job keeping his hands up and chasing his man around. He rotates well and was excellent when it came to cutting his man off from driving and funneling him towards the bigs, showing that his quickness translates well to lateral movement as well.

Ramon Sessions is currently on assignment from the Milwaukee Bucks and is certainly capable of competing with Royal Ivey for the third point guard spot in the rotation. [Read Full Article]Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Final RecapJune 4, 2007In a camp full of solid point guard play, it would be hard to argue that anybody fared better than Nevada underclassman Ramon Sessions. Sessions, much like Jordan on our second team, isn’t the most imposing athlete out there. He has decent quickness, but a slight frame, and was at an overall physical disadvantage against almost every point guard in the camp. Yet it was Sessions who put up the most impressive statistics (13 points per game, 13 total assists compared with just 1 lone turnover). He was able to get to the basket, and did as good a job as any point guard in the camp at creating for his teammates and running the offense.

Sessions clearly has that natural knack for running a team, something he first displayed as a freshman. After injuries derailed his sophomore year, Sessions got back on track this season, showing major improvement as a scorer. His mark was all over this camp, and he does it with solid decision making, and a patient, probing way of making a defense commit to stopping him or stopping the pass. At this point Sessions would probably rather pull defenses toward him and use his excellent court vision to find teammates, but he is improving with the pull-up jumper and a creative array of floaters and other finishing moves if he makes his way into the lane.

In short, Sessions did exactly what the camp is intended to do for underclassmen. He had nothing to lose by coming, and now GM’s have an extended, first-hand impression of his game. Now Sessions needs to go back to school, and work on shoring up a few weak points that will keep him out of the first round in 2007. Sessions has the stature and patient, yet dangerous play style of a young Tony Parker, but Parker was always on a different level in terms of quickness and strength. Sessions needs to spend the rests of the summer in the weight room, continue to polish up his shooting and scoring game, and put in a solid senior season at Nevada. If he puts in the work this summer, Sessions will have significantly benefited from his decision to attend the camp. [Read Full Article]Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day ThreeJune 1, 2007It was another fantastic showing for the underclassman, who has now racked up 12 assists to just 1 turnover in the first two days of competition. Sessions’ game management has been just as excellent as that statistic would indicate. His hand is steady, and he is able to probe defenses in a steady way that nearly always leads to a better situation for his team. Sessions isn’t the most explosive athlete out there, but his ability to make the right decision on whether to look for a teammate or shoot the ball himself makes him a very dangerous player with the ball in his hands.

Today Sessions got his offense going a bit, connecting on a handful of runners in the lane and getting to the basket a bit more often than he had earlier in the camp. He has a tendency to force his offense every now and then, but when his floater is connecting he becomes even more dangerous. On the whole, he is very willing to give up the ball and picks apart any defense that isn’t playing as a unit in terms of help across the whole court.

Sessions has done what just about every underclassman hopes to accomplish by attending the Orlando camp. It is unlikely that he would be able to crack the first round this season, but with an offseason dedicated to getting stronger and more explosive, the first round of 2008 doesn’t seem unrealistic at all. He will certainly get more attention from the scouts throughout his senior season if he does decide to return to school. [Read Full Article]Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day TwoMay 30, 2007As a junior, Ramon Sessions made great strides as a basketball player while also leading the team to a competitive season. As a junior, he decided to test his stock to see how he stacks up compared to some of players he will compete against for a job in the future. Sessions was probably the best of the point guard crop today, and a key catalyst for team 6 in their blowout win.

Sessions displayed his court vision early on in the game. After penetrating on a pick and roll, he dropped the ball off to an open teammate with a no-look pass in traffic. In a draft camp setting, it can be difficult to evaluate a lead guard who will not know the tendencies of the teammates they have played with for just a matter of days. It was obvious that Sessions has a great basketball IQ as he controlled the offense with great command and allowed his true point guard instincts to take over. He was particularly effective running the pick and roll, and made many smart passes in transition.

As a scorer, the junior point guard has the potential to be passable as an NBA point guard, but lacks the polish to be a consistent threat in this area right now. Sessions attempted to show his ability in this area many times with mixed results in the end. He was unable to convert a series of floaters from 8-12 feet, and his outside jumper remains sketchy despite a major improvement in three point shooting percentage this season. In the NBA scoring will be a secondary option for Sessions, but the ability to knock down an open three pointer from NBA range will help him greatly.

On the defensive end, he lacks superior quickness but uses solid fundamentals to compensate in this area. Sessions uses good positioning and a tough mentality to stay with athletic guards who have more polish physically.

Overall, it was a very strong showing for the junior point guard from Nevada. He has the natural point guard skills of an NBA player, but must improve as a scorer to play in the NBA while showing that a lack of athleticism won’t cripple his game. The wise choice for Sessions would be to return for his senior season at Nevada and continue to improve his scoring ability and physique. [Read Full Article]Weekly Top Performers (12/12): Part 2December 14, 2006Based off what we saw, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sessions is one of the steadiest, mistake-free point guards you’ll find anywhere in the country, as his 2.71 assist to turnover ratio would attest. He’s extremely confident handling the ball, is very smart, and as natural a playmaker as they get. His passing skills are outstanding, either driving and dishing—always with his head up seeking the open man—or in the half-court offense where he runs his team’s sets to perfection and does a fantastic job threading the needle unselfishly with some gorgeous post-entry passes.

At this point in his career, Sessions is certainly not a prolific offensive player. He lacks range on his jump-shot, a legit pull-up game from mid-range, and is not terribly explosive vertically once he gets into the paint. He can hit a 3-point with his feet set when he’s left open, but this is certainly not his strength. He has decent shooting mechanics, excellent footwork and a quick enough first step to keep defenses honest, but NBA scouts will want to see him develop more offensive versatility by the time he graduates to keep them interested. As is stands right now, he compares favorably with Aaron Miles (the best point guard in Kansas history), but it’s just this lack of firepower that keeps Miles out of the NBA for the time being.

Like Miles, Sessions is an outstanding defender, being fundamentally sound with his lateral movement, superb toughness, great footwork, and showing outstanding hands and anticipation skills to get into the passing lanes.
Sessions probably isn’t the sexiest prospect you’ll find on this list, but he shows many of the characteristics you look for in a solid backup point guard for the NBA, and therefore he’ll get plenty of looks as teams come to watch his more highly touted teammate Nick Fazekas. [Read Full Article]